Joe Gibbs Voices Insane Story of Defeating Dale Earnhardt With Late Son JD Gibbs

Joe Gibbs has been part of some wild moments in NASCAR, and his team’s journey is packed with stories that feel like they’re straight out of a movie. Take Denny Hamlin’s origin story: back in 1992, an 11-year-old Hamlin walked up to Gibbs at an autograph session in Virginia, bold as brass, and declared he’d race for Joe Gibbs Racing one day. Gibbs didn’t forget that kid’s nerve, and neither did Hamlin. By 2004, Gibbs signed him to a development deal, and in 2005, Hamlin made his Cup debut.  A year later, he was Rookie of the Year with two wins, and now, with over 50 Cup victories and three Daytona 500s, he’s a JGR cornerstone. That kind of foresight defines Gibbs’ knack for spotting talent.

Then there’s the game-changer in 2008 when Gibbs took a massive leap, switching Joe Gibbs Racing from General Motors to Toyota. The Japanese automaker had struggled in its 2007 Cup debut, scraping by with just one top-five finish. Fans and purists weren’t sold on Toyota in NASCAR’s heartland, and Gibbs, a former NFL coach and American sports icon, faced skepticism for the move. But he saw Toyota’s deep pockets and engineering chops as a ticket to the future. Four races into 2008, Kyle Busch proved him right, dominating Atlanta’s Kobalt Tools 500 with 173 laps led in the No. 18 Toyota Camry for the manufacturer’s first Cup win, a middle finger to the doubters.

When asked about his favorite moment as a team owner, though, Gibbs didn’t pick Hamlin’s rise or the Toyota switch. On Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour podcast, he shared a memory that’s personal, raw, and tied to his late son, JD Gibbs.

Joe Gibbs’ Most Memorable Moment

On the podcast, Kevin Harvick got straight to it: “What was the one moment that sticks out to you as an owner?” Gibbs didn’t hesitate. “Well there is one and we start our first year didn’t win a race. Dale Jarrett’s our driver and so JD had come on board, my son with Meredith and Dave Alpern who is now our President. All young guys I gave them to Jimmy Makar and said ‘Find something for them to do.’ So they take off JD wound up on the pit crew for the second year and of course his second year was ’93, Daytona 500 and I remember this forever and that race starts and we’re pretty good,” he said.

The 1993 Daytona 500 was a thriller, with 38 lead changes among 13 drivers. Dale Jarrett, in JGR’s No. 18, battled Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt, who led 107 laps. Jarrett slipped back mid-race but rallied, drafting off Geoff Bodine and slipping past Gordon with two laps left. On the final lap, he outmaneuvered Earnhardt exiting Turn 2, winning by 0.16 seconds.

Gibbs’ voice lit up recalling the chaos: “The next thing you know we’re up close to the front now I got my son who’s on the pit crew very first race. All of a sudden I start going like this ‘Oh my god this could come down to the last pit stop’. Sure enough it comes to the last pit stop and so this what is what happened Todd Meredith was carrying the tire and in those days we did left side tires and JD was doing left side he goes over does the front tire goes to the back it’s about 3 lug nuts and they dropped the car is gone and he stood up like this and Todd says looked at him and went, Did you get those tight? and JD goes ‘I got 3 of them tight’ He goes ‘Can we, can we go on that?’ and JD looked up at Jimmy. Makar and Jimmy Makar’s nickname in those dog days was Mad Dog. OK, so he looked up at Jimmy and he looks back at Todd. He goes ‘We’re going to find out because he was not going to tell.’”

That pit stop was make-or-break, Jarrett’s car held together, despite JD’s three-lug-nut gamble, and he beat Earnhardt, who was chasing his first Daytona 500 win after 15 tries. Earnhardt’s heartbreak was palpable, as broadcaster Ken Squier noted: “He’s done everything there is to do at Daytona, except win the 500.” The race had its share of chaos, with Rusty Wallace’s multi-roll crash on Lap 170 and earlier wrecks involving Al Unser Jr. and Kyle Petty. Seven cautions kept the 150,000-strong crowd on edge, but Jarrett’s last-lap pass stole the show, marking JGR’s first Cup win.

Gibbs wrapped up the story with a laugh: “Jimmy and Can you believe we won that race beat senior and honestly, Norm Miller, our sponsor had I still remember he had a T shirt on with the big picture Dale Jarrett on the front of it. Our boys are rolling in the infield. circle is. So they’re wandering around. We we finally go into winner’s circle and So I’m in there. I’m in there for about 10 minutes, 15 minutes. They throw champagne and stuff and figure, well, hey, that’s the end of this. didn’t know you’re supposed to go to media. I didn’t know anything. I look over and the trophy was there and so just grabbed the trophy and Pat, pat. And I said, come on with the boys, let’s go didn’t know we were supposed to do anything.”

Instead of media duties, Gibbs and his crew, including JD, hit a Steak ‘n Shake near Daytona Beach, celebrating over burgers and milkshakes, a rookie move that’s now NASCAR legend.

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Christopher Bell, JGR ‘Racing for a Miracle’ in Chicago

This weekend, Christopher Bell’s No. 20 Toyota Camry XSE will hit Chicago’s streets with a special look for the Grant Park 165, sporting a “Racing for a Miracle” scheme to mark the 19th year of Stanley Black & Decker’s partnership with the Ace Hardware Foundation and Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

The program has raised over $1.9 million since 2006, and this year, CRAFTSMAN is donating $100,000 to support kids at CMN Hospitals. The car’s design, featuring artwork by 10 patients from Chicago’s Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital, adds a heartfelt touch. Tony Merritt, Stanley Black & Decker’s VP of Sponsorships, said the stories of these kids’ strength inspire the team, and they’re proud to keep the legacy going.

Bell, fifth in the Cup standings with three 2025 wins, has led 51 laps in Chicago’s first two races but struggled to an 18th in 2023 and a 37th last year after a late crash. He’s hungry to turn his speed into a win on the tricky 2.2-mile course.